New Pool Owner - Should have done my homework...Any help appreciated

Hi, I purchases an Intex 15x42 above ground pool today, and didn't think to buy any chemicals or test my water before setting it up. I haven't the first clue on where to start when it comes to putting chemicals in there, and I have 4 children so I'd like to know I'm putting the right thing in there. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.

We have a thread for you to read that will get you started with the chemistry side of things. Go to the sub-forum called "Pool Chemistry for Intex-Type Pools." The top two threads will get you started.

Then, come back here with specific questions.

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Thanks for the info. Ok, I'm read up on that post now. So here is where I am at, and first let me say I really appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions. I filled the pool, knowing it wasn't level, now I am draining it. When it was full, I measured the levels using the aquachem kit from walmart with the red/yellow drops that test CL BR and PH (I think). CL/BR didn't register at all, and PH was maxed out. I stocked up on chlorine tablets (1in), and a floater before reading the post! So, now I have a bunch of chlorine tabs (w/floater), a box of balance (purple box @ walmart), and a above ground kit that includes a bottle of shock, and a bottle of more chlorine tabs. Question, once I level and refill, what do I add to lower the PH from MAX to where it should be? Also, can I just throw the tabs in the floater and let it do its thing as far as the chlorine levels are concerned? Lastly, if I buy the salt water system, will that eliminate having to deal with all the chemicals? Thanks again for your time. Any info you think might help, please send it my way. I have no idea what i'm doing. Thanks!

You can use the tabs (make sure to look at the ingredients, and make sure it's trichloro....long name, and that they don't contain copper. If they contain copper, take them back and try Lowe's, Home Depot, Academy, or your local pool store for trichlor tabs that do not contain copper. Copper stains pools, turns nails and blonde hair green, and adds major problems to your water chemistry. Use them in the floater, but don't let the kids play with the floater--I would take it out of the pool while the kids are there, because you don't want them swimming into concentrated 'pockets" of low pH-high chlorine water. The tabs are very acidic, so they will help bring your pH down some. They will also add stabilizer, which you'll need in the pool to keep the sun from consuming all of your chlorine.

What is the ingredient in the "balance"? Don't open it--I'm pretty sure you're gonna need to return it. What are the ingredients in the bottle of shock, and in the bottle of chlorine tabs in your AG kit? (Try not to open it--you probably will need to take it back, too). You can lower the pH with either Muriatic acid (but read the instructions for handling it, linked in my sig, before you get it) or dry acid (like pH down that is also sold at WalMart).

If you buy a salt system, it will cut down on a lot of the chemicals, but you'll still have to lower your pH with acid on a regular basis, and you'll still need to add the stabilizer that you need. The Intex SWCG also has a copper ionizer in it, and I've already covered the copper issue.....For the rest of this season, you should be able to get along with mainly the tabs and some bleach--and a good test kit, which is probably the most important thing you'll buy for your pool. We highly recommend the K-2006 (see the testkit link in my sig), or at the very least, check your WalMart and see if they have the hth 6-way drop kit. I would pick up the test kit, a few gallons of bleach, and return the other stuff--even the tabs, if they're the ones that contain copper.

Janet